'Fill the Void' Will Be Israel's Oscar Entry

Israel has selected the award-winning film “Fill the Void” as its submission to the best foreign language film category of the Oscars.

“Fill the Void,” or “Lemale et ha’chalal,” won Film of the Year Sept. 21 at the Ophir Awards, Israel’s national film awards from the Israeli Academy of Film and Television.

The film, about a young haredi Orthodox woman from Tel Aviv who is engaged to be married but must decide whether to marry her brother-in-law when her sister dies in childbirth, also won Ophirs for Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actress, and Best Makeup, after being nominated in 13 categories.

It is the first full-length feature film for director Rama Burshtein, who is herself haredi Orthodox.

Hadas Yaron won Best Actress, an award she also won last month at the prestigious Venice Film Festival.

The film will actually be screened in Israel after the High Holiday season.

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